1. Technical Field of the Invention
The invention relates to the field of doorstop devices. Particularly, the invention relates to devices employed to limit the degree of hinged rotation of an object, such as a door, for example. Specifically, the invention in one embodiment is a device which is coupled to a hinge as a replacement for an existing hinge pin.
2. Prior Background Art
Hinged objects seem always subject to some form of restraint. Doors are locked to prevent them opening. Doors are limited in their movement to prevent them banging walls and furniture. Hinged desk tops are limited in movement from a closed position to a horizontal position. Upward swinging cabinet doors are restrained from freely closing. Hinged objects appear to invite restraint.
Hinged doors, especially, invite restraint. Like sentient beings, some doors stubbornly refuse to remain open; others, to remain closed. Some appear to take pleasure in slamming into furniture or wall hangings, or bashing their door knobs jarringly into a plastered wall. The prior art is replete with devices intended to limit the extent a door will rotate about its hinged support.
Small bumpers are often placed on the floor to interfere with passage of the door's base past the bumper. Cleaning the floor around a permanently installed bumper can be a problem.
Coiled springs having a bumper at one end and a screw fastener at the other are fastened to either a wall or the door to prevent the door contacting the wall. A hole in the wall or the door is the usual result of this arrangement.
Another popular door swing restraint in generally wye shaped, having a bore in the base of its stem for receiving the hinge pin of the door hinge coupled to the door to be restrained. When the hinge pin is placed through the bore at the base of the wye shape, and the pin replaced in the hinge, the arms of the wye shape lie in a generally horizontal plane such that, as the door is opened toward its limits, the surface of the door will contact one arm of the wye while the surface of the wall contacts the other arm of the wye. To buffer the contact force, a rubber bumper is placed at the end of each arm of the wye. Unfortunately, the usual result, again, is a hole in the wall, the door, or both.
The last two devices described cause damage to wall and door because they are so often installed in a manner which causes high pressure concentration on small areas of plaster wall or hollow-core door surfaces. The last device, the wye shaped device, has the advantage of being simple to install. However, the resulting damage which accrues from its use, makes it generally undesirable.
It is an object of the invention to provide a hinge pin swing stop for limiting the degree of rotation of an object, which swing stop can be used without incurring pressure induced damage to adjacent surfaces.